Protection profile for a substantially plate-shaped body

ABSTRACT

The protection profile for a substantially plate-shaped body ( 30 ) includes a profile strip ( 40 ) made of thermoplastic foam with two flanks ( 41, 42 ) and a slat ( 43 ). In the receiving space ( 44 ) of the profile strip ( 40 ) a foil inlay ( 50 ) is inserted in such a way that the exposed ends of its sidewalls ( 51, 52 ) are firmly joined to the exposed front faces ( 45, 46 ) of the flanks ( 41, 42 ) and its base wall ( 53 ) is arranged at such a distance ( 54 ) from the slat ( 43 ) that, also with the plate-shaped body ( 30 ) inserted in the foil inlay ( 50 ), the base wall ( 53 ) does not come into contact with the slat ( 43 ), but under the weight of the plate-shaped body ( 30 ) the foil inlay ( 50 ) presses the flanks ( 41, 42 ) of the profile strip against the plate-shaped body ( 30 ).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a protection profile for a substantially plate-shaped body. The protection profile has a profile strip made of foamed plastic, which comprises two flanks in each case with a flank inner face and an exposed front face as well as a slat connecting the flanks with a slat inner face. The flank inner faces and the slat inner face delimit a receiving space, which between the exposed front faces of the flanks has a strip opening extending in the longitudinal direction of the profile strip. An inlay is provided in the receiving space for contact with the plate-shaped body, which is joined on the profile side and has a strength greater than that of the foam.

2. Description of the Background

German Patent DE 36 26 765 C2 discloses a packing body comprising a base plate made of cardboard, on which a carrier layer made of polymerized polyethylene foam with a thickness of approximately 10 mm and a density of between 0.025 and 0.3 g/cm³ is arranged. A smooth surface layer in the form of 50 μm thick polyethylene foil is bonded or welded on the exposed face of the polyethylene foam. With the aid of a heated press the surface layer with the carrier layer underneath is thermally deformed to create a compartment for receiving an article. In this case the polyethylene foam is compacted in the region for receiving the article to such an extent that a residual elasticity still remains present. The resetting forces thereby working in the side faces of the compartment hold the article snugly in the compartment. The surface layer, with which the article comes into contact, improves the sliding properties, so that the article can be easily removed from the compartment.

US Patent U.S. Pat. No. 3,836,043 (FIG. 1B) discloses a corner profile made of a flexible material and a metal jacket to be applied over the corner of an article. The corner profile is thus a profile made of a flexible material, such as rubber, having an internal area, which is covered with a metallic layer, whereby the metal has a strength with regard to penetration and/or cutting and/or tearing and/or abrasion greater than the rubber of the flexible material.

The profile disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,836,043 corresponds to the profile described in claim 1 of DE 694 19 556 T2 (EP 0 621 207 B1), which is designed in particular to be applied on at least two adjacent sides of articles, in order to keep them apart from one another and to protect them against impacts during their handling, storage and transport. The profile consists of a flexible material for absorbing impacts, for example a foam, in particular plastic. The profile in its inner area, which is designed to contact the sides of the article, comprises a material layer, which exhibits a strength with regard to penetration and/or shearing and/or tearing and/or abrasion greater than the strength of the flexible material. The material layer of the inner area can be joined to the material layer of the flexible material of the profile. In accordance with a special embodiment the flexible material and the material layer can be selected from the group of polyolefins and copolymers. The profile can be a corner profile or a U-profile with two flanks and a slat, whereby a receiving space for the article to be held is formed between the inner faces of the flanks and the slat. The material layer in this case is arranged on the slat inner face and starting from which can extend somewhat into the slat-side area of the flank inner faces.

With this profile representing the generic state of the art the article in the form of a plate-shaped body with its peripheral region is introduced into the receiving space and brought to sit on the material layer, which although with the article to be protected inserted prevents tearing of the foam directly coming into contact therewith due to its greater strength, promotes tearing in the adjacent foam not having a material layer. It has been shown that the protection of the peripheral regions of the plate-shaped body, achievable with the known profile, is insufficient for many applications. The retention of the peripheral region of the plate-shaped body in the receiving space is alone determined by the precision of fit between plate thickness and distance apart of the profile flanks as well as by the friction coefficient of the foam and is therefore not always adequate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention consists in configuring the protection profile of the kind initially specified so that, apart from the excellent shock-absorption for the plate-shaped body in the protection profile also dependent on loading, the friction between the protection profile and the peripheral region of the inserted plate-shaped body can be increased and the supporting force can be distributed over a wider area.

This object is achieved on the basis of the protection profile of the kind initially specified, by the fact that the inlay is a foil inlay with an inlay opening extending in the longitudinal direction of the profile strip and with an inner space, which is delimited by sidewalls extending along the flank inner faces of the profile strip and by a base wall facing the slat inner face of the profile strip. The sidewalls of the foil inlay rise above the strip opening of the profile strip and are joined at least to the exposed front faces of the flanks of the profile strip. The base wall of the foil inlay is arranged at a distance from the slat inner face of the profile strip. This distance is dimensioned so that the plate-shaped body introduced into the foil inlay through the inlay opening, with one edge lying on the base wall of the foil inlay, bends the flanks of the profile strip with the foil inlay due to the foil inlay being joined to the exposed front faces of the profile strip towards one another, starting from the inlay- and strip-opening towards one another and presses them against the plate-shaped body, without the base wall of the foil inlay coming into contact with the slat inner face of the profile strip.

In this embodiment of the protection profile the foil inlay, when the plate-shaped body is being inserted in its inner space, ensures good shock-absorption during insertion and whenever impacts occur during transport. This excellent shock-absorption is due both to the plastic and flexible expansion of the foil inlay as well as the foam at the junction points with the foil inlay, without at the same time the base wall of the foil inlay coming into contact with the slat inner face, thus a certain resilience is possible within this part of the air-filled receiving space of the profile strip. The plate-shaped body lying on the base wall of the foil inlay exerts pressure thereon, which propagates in the foil inlay and because the foil inlay is joined to the exposed front faces of the profile strip, leads to a moment of force, which moves the flanks of the profile strip with the foil inlay towards one another, as a result of which the retaining pressure on the plate-shaped body is increased and thus the plate-shaped body is securely held in the protection profile and increased carrying load is achieved at the same time.

Foamed plastics suitable for the profile strip are preferably all foams offering the desired protection in particular polyethylene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride or polypropylene foams as well as combinations thereof, as well as PU and possibly also elastomeric foams.

The foil inlay advantageously consists of single ply or multi-ply foils made of polyvinyl chloride, polyethylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, polypropylene oxide, etc.

Foam and foil expediently consist of the same product group, making unadulterated re-cycling possible. If special demands related to protection, shock-absorption, cut-resistance, adhesion, load-distribution etc. are imposed on the protection profile, a foil inlay in the form of a multi-ply foil can be used, whereby the individual layers of the foil, in particular the external layers, can have varying properties and consist of different materials. For example the layer coming into contact with the plate-shaped body can have very good adhesion capacity, while that of the layer facing the profile strip can be easy to weld or bond therewith. For stabilization an intermediate layer, made of polyethylene terephthalate for example, may also be provided.

The foil inlay is expediently joined to the profile strip, as mentioned, by means of bonding or welding, or also by co-extrusion of the profile strip and the foil inlay.

For certain application purposes it may be practical if the foil is provided with a support in the region of the sidewalls and/or in the region of the base wall and/or in the transitional area between the sidewalls and the base wall. Such a support can be a reinforcement made of the same foil material or another foil material, whereby the foil material can be joined in the desired position again by welding, bonding or co-extrusion. The support can also be an adhesive layer or non-slip coating, if the foil inlay is smooth and reversed. By reinforcing the base wall the cutting resistance can be increased for example.

A particularly stable protection profile arises if the foil inlay on the outer side encompasses the whole profile strip and either is not fixed to it on its exterior face or joined thereto by bonding. In this embodiment the inlay foil takes advantage of the whole profile strip for force distribution and is used in particular if the inlay foil can only be poorly joined to the profile strip.

For consistent contact with the edge of the plate-shaped body, which may have a certain shape or sealing rims, support ledges, which are correspondingly configured for this contact, may be provided on one or both sidewalls and/or the base wall of the foil inlay. The support ledges can consist of hard foam or a solid material for example.

In order to increase the shock-absorption on the part of the foil inlay when the plate-shaped body is being inserted in the protection profile, holes or cutouts may be provided in the foil inlay. The foil inlay can also be formed with a mesh structure. To ensure sufficient adhesion of the foil inlay to the profile strip a longitudinal fold opening in the direction of the slat inner face can be provided with concealed integrated glue or adhesive on the sidewalls of the foil inlay. Thus simple application of the protection profile with easy sliding and exclusive adhesion should be possible.

It has also shown to be practical if the receiving space is expanded on the slat side, which can be simply achieved by extrusion and which results in greater flexibility, creates space for sensitive sealing rims and reduces the notch effect whenever the slats of the profile strip are obtained by cutting.

In a particularly preferred embodiment the slat inner face with the adjacent regions of the flank inner faces forms an expanding part of the receiving space, which can have a substantially circular cross section for example.

Without reducing the required shock-absorption and friction in order to save material the foil inlay can consist of a plurality of foil inlay elements, which are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the profile strip at a distance from one another.

Expediently the profile strip has a U- or a V-shaped cross section.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

On the basis of drawings exemplary embodiments of the invention are described in detail. There are shown:

FIG. 1 in perspective a first embodiment of a protection profile,

FIG. 2 a front view of the protection profile of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 the protection profile of FIG. 1 with plate-shaped body inserted,

FIG. 4 a front view of the protection profile of FIG. 3,

FIG. 5 in a view similar to FIG. 2 a first modification of the foil inlay,

FIG. 6 in a view similar to FIG. 5 a second modification of the foil inlay,

FIG. 7 in a view similar to FIG. 1 a third modification of the foil inlay,

FIG. 8 in a view similar to FIG. 1 a fourth modification of the foil inlay,

FIG. 9 a front view of FIG. 8,

FIG. 10 the protection profile of FIG. 1 with a fifth modification of the foil inlay and inserted plate-shaped body with rim seal,

FIG. 11 a cross section through the protection profile of FIG. 10 with the plate-shaped body during insertion,

FIG. 12 in a view similar to FIG. 11 the protection profile with plate-shaped body inserted,

FIG. 13 in perspective a second embodiment of a protection profile,

FIG. 14 a cross section through the protection profile of FIG. 13,

FIG. 15 in a view similar to FIG. 14 a sixth modification of the foil inlay with a fold for receiving adhesive and

FIG. 16 an enlarged cutout of FIG. 15,

FIG. 17 in a view similar to FIG. 2 a third embodiment of a protection profile,

FIG. 18 in a view similar to FIG. 11 showing a modified support.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The protection profile shown in FIGS. 1 to 4 has a U-profile strip 40 made of a thermoplastic foam. The U-profile strip 40 has two flanks 41 and 42 as well as a slat 43, which form one piece. On the side facing the slat 43 each flank 41 and 42 in each case has an exposed front face 45 and 46. The flank 41 has a flank inner face 47, the flank 42 a flank inner face 48. The slat 43 has a slat inner face 49. The flank inner faces 47 and 48 changing into the slat inner face 49 delimit a receiving space 44, which has a strip opening 60 extending in the longitudinal direction of the U-profile strip 40 between the exposed front faces 45 and 46 of the flanks 41 and 42.

A U-shaped foil inlay 50, whose strength, in particular tensile strength, but also cutting resistance, slip resistance and the like is greater than that of the foam or which possesses other properties, is arranged in the receiving space 44 for contact with the plate-shaped body 30. The foil inlay 50 has sidewalls 51, 52 and a base wall 53, which form one piece and delimit an inner space 74 with an inlay opening 70 extending in the longitudinal direction of the profile strip 40. The sidewalls 51 and 52 extend along the flank inner faces 47 and 48. The sidewalls 51 and 52 of the foil inlay 50 rise above the strip opening 60 and are bent over the exposed front faces 45, 46 of the flanks 41, 42 of the U-profile strip 40 and joined thereto by bonding, welding or co-extrusion. This joining can even extend into the area of the flank inner faces 47 and 48 or completely beyond these.

The base wall 53 of the foil inlay 50 is arranged at a distance 54 from the slat inner face 49. The distance 54 of the base wall 53 of the foil inlay 50 from the slat inner face 49 is dimensioned so that the plate-shaped body 30 introduced into the foil inlay 50 through the inlay opening 70, with one edge 31 lying on the base wall 53 of the foil inlay 50 bends the flanks 41 and 42 with foil inlay 50 due to the foil inlay 50 being joined to their exposed front faces 45, 46 towards one another, starting from the strip opening 60 and/or the inlay opening 70 and presses them against the plate-shaped body 30, without the base wall 53 coming into contact with the slat inner face 49. This state is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4 the flank inner faces 47 and 48 are aligned slightly against one another or to begin with generally parallel and slightly pointing away from one another and then change into the slat inner face 49 in such a way that the receiving space 44 within the slat-side area has an expanded cross section, which is substantially circular in the case of the embodiment shown.

As is clear to see from FIGS. 3 and 4, the distance 54 is reduced by plastic and flexible expansion of the foil inlay 50 under the weight of the inserted plate-shaped body 30, however without the foil inlay 50 on the base wall side coming into contact with the slat inner face 49 of the profile strip 40.

With the modification shown in FIG. 5 a reinforcement 56 is provided on the inside of the base wall 53 of the foil inlay 50, which serves as cutting protection for example.

With the modification shown in FIG. 6 a reinforcement 56 is provided respectively inside on each sidewall 51, 52 of the foil inlay 50, which dependent on the properties of the foil inlay 50 can be slip-inhibiting or smooth for example.

With the modification of the profile strip in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4 shown in FIG. 7 the foil inlay 50 is interrupted in the longitudinal direction of the U-profile strip 40 and consists of foil inlay elements 55 at a distance from one another, each of which has sidewalls 51 and 52 and a base wall 53.

The protection profile of FIGS. 8 and 9 differs from that of FIGS. 1 to 4 in that the foil inlay 50 encompasses all external walls of the U-profile strip 40 and is joined thereto. The thermoplastic foam of the U-profile strip 40 is therefore only visible on the front faces of the protection profile. This embodiment with plate-shaped body inserted distributes the forces in the foil inlay 50 over most of the exterior face of the U-profile strip 40 even in the case of materials, which are thermally difficult to weld.

The protection profile shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 substantially corresponds to that in FIGS. 1 to 4 with the exception that a support ledge 57 made of expanded polystyrene is arranged on the base wall 53 of the foil inlay 50 on the inner side facing the inlay opening 70, which is provided for consistent contact with a plate-shaped body 30, from which two rims extend away on the edge side so that a Y edge 32 is formed, that is to say an edge, whose cross-section has the shape of a Y standing on its head. In this case as with the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4 the slat-side part of the receiving space 44 of the U-profile strip 40 is formed in the cross section as an expanding circle.

If, as shown in FIG. 11, the plate-shaped body 30 with the Y edge 32 is introduced through the inlay opening 70 into the foil inlay 50, its Y edge 32 pushes the sidewalls 51 and 52 of the foil inlay 50 apart, whereby the base wall 53 carrying the support ledge 57 is aligned horizontally.

If the plate-shaped body 30 with its Y edge 32 is fully inserted into the foil inlay 50 of the protection profile, as shown in FIG. 12, the foil inlay 50 lies firmly on the outer contour of the plate-shaped body 30, whereby the support ledge 57 protrudes into the Y edge 32 and at the base of the Y comes into contact with the plate-shaped body 30. In this way the plate-shaped body 30 is brought into the inner space 74 of the inlay foil 50 and is well protected against impacts and the like, whereby through the weight of the plate-shaped body 30, shown by the vertical arrow in FIG. 12, the flanks 41 and 42 are pressed inwards in the direction of the horizontal arrows against the plate-shaped body 30, so that its friction adhesion within the foil inlay 50 is increased. As a result of the support ledge 57 the Y edge 32 or the rims is/are fixed and protected against bending. The force is therefore not conducted via the rim to be protected but via the support ledge 57 and the plate-shaped body 30.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 the protection profile has a U-profile strip 40 with a long straight slat 43, whereby the slat inner face 49 is arranged approximately parallel to the base wall 53 of the foil inlay 50 located at the distance 54. In all other respects the protection profile has the same structure and the same function as that in FIGS. 1 to 4.

With the modification of FIGS. 15 and 16 the sidewalls 51 and 52 of the foil inlay 50 form a fold 58 on the flank inner faces 47 and 48 of the flanks 41 and 42, which is shown enlarged in FIG. 16. A glue or adhesive is contained in the pocket formed by this fold 58 on the flank inner face side. If a plate-shaped body (not shown) is inserted into the inner space 74 of the foil inlay 50, the folds 58 can open under the weight of the body, whereby the base wall 53 is shifted further towards the slat 43 and in this case when the folds 58 open provides shock protection. As a result of the adhesive after the folds 58 open coming into contact with the flank inner faces 47 and 48, the respective sidewall 51, 52 is additionally joined to the associated flank 41 and 42 of the U-profile strip 40. The folds 58 are illustrated over-dimensioned in FIGS. 15 and 16. After opening of the folds as well as after plastic and flexible expansion of the foil inlay 50 under the weight of the plate-shaped body (not shown) the base wall 53 of the foil inlay 50 does not come into contact with the slat inner face 49 of the slat 43 of the U-shaped profile strip 40.

Due to the fact that the glue, adhesive or anti-slip coating is concealed, the body 30 to be protected can be easily introduced without obstacle into the protection profile, because the folds 58 only open when the base wall 53 of the inlay foil 50 is loaded. The position of the fold 58 therefore plays no substantial role, but must only lie against the flank inner face 47. Thus automatic insertion of the plate-shaped body 30 is also simplified.

With the third embodiment shown in FIG. 17 the protection profile has a V-shaped profile strip 40 with two flanks 41 and 42 as well as a slat 43 running to a point located in the transitional area of the flanks 41 and 42. A receiving space 44, in which, L as shown, an inlay foil 50 is arranged, is provided in the vicinity of the slat 43, whereby this arrangement and the joining of the inlay foil 50 correspond to those of the other embodiments. Furthermore a plate-shaped body 30 is shown inserted in the inlay foil 50.

The protection profile shown in FIG. 18 differs from that shown in FIG. 11 by the fact that the support ledge 57 is a part of the base wall-side support 56 of FIG. 5 and is located on the one flank inner face 47 of the U-profile strip 40. The plate-shaped body 30 has an edge 32′, which has a rim 33 on one side distant therefrom, facing the other flank inner face 48 of the profile strip 40. If the edge 32′ of the plate-shaped body 30 lies against the support ledge 57, its rim 33 extends past the support ledge 57 into the inner space 74 delimited by the inlay foil 50. Although the plate-shaped body 30 in this way is arranged nearer the flank inner wall 47 of the U-profile strip 40 than the flank inner wall 48, it means that the force resulting from the weight of the plate-shaped body 30 is conducted in a consistent way over the asymmetrically arranged support ledge 57 and the support 56 forming one piece therewith via the inlay foil 50 into the flanks 41, 42 of the profile strip 40 and thus the flanks 41, 42 again with the same force are pressed against the plate-shaped body 30. In addition the inner space 70 of the foil inlay 50 remains intact so that the rim 33 is received without disturbance. 

1. Protection profile for a substantially plate-shaped body (30), wherein the protection profile comprises a profile strip (40) made of foamed plastic, which has two flanks (41, 42) each with a flank inner face (47, 48) and an exposed front face (45, 46) as well as a slat (43) connecting the flanks (41, 42) with a slat inner face (49), wherein the flank inner faces (47, 48) and the slat inner face (49) delimit a receiving space (44), which between the exposed front faces (45, 46) of the flanks (41, 42) has a strip opening (60) extending in the longitudinal direction of the profile strip (40), and wherein an inlay is arranged in the receiving space (44) for contact with the plate-shaped body (30), which is joined on the profile side and has a strength greater than that of the foam, characterized in that the inlay is a foil inlay (50) with an inlay opening (70) extending in the longitudinal direction of the profile strip (40) and with an inner space (74), which is delimited by sidewalls (51, 52) extending along the flank inner faces (47, 48) of the profile strip (40) and by a base wall (53) facing the slat inner face (49) of the profile strip (40), whereby the sidewalls (51, 52) of the foil inlay (50) rise above the strip opening (60) of the profile strip (40) and are joined at least to the exposed front faces (45, 46) of the flanks (41, 42) of the profile strip (40), whereby the base wall (53) of the foil inlay (50) is arranged at a distance (54) from the slat inner face (49) of the profile strip (40), and whereby the distance (54) of the base wall (53) of the foil inlay (50) from the slat inner face (49) of the profile strip (40) is dimensioned so that the plate-shaped body (30) introduced into the foil inlay (50) through the inlay opening (70), with one edge (31, 32) lying on the base wall (53) of the foil inlay (50), bends the flanks (41, 42) of the profile strip (40) with the foil inlay (50) due to the foil inlay (50) being joined to the exposed front faces (45, 46) of the profile strip (40) towards one another, starting from the inlay opening (70) and the strip opening (60) and presses them against the plate-shaped body (30), without the base wall (53) of the foil inlay (50) coming into contact with the slat inner face (49) of the profile strip (40).
 2. Protection profile according to claim 1, characterized in that the foil inlay (50) is joined to the profile strip (40) by means of bonding, welding or co-extrusion.
 3. Protection profile according to claim 1, characterized in that the foil inlay (50) is provided with a support (56) in the region of its sidewalls (51, 52) and/or in the region of its base wall (53) and/or in the transitional area between its sidewalls (51, 52) and its base wall (53).
 4. Protection profile according to claim 3, characterized in that the support (56) is a reinforcement, adhesive layer or non-slip coating.
 5. Protection profile according to claim 1, characterized in that the foil inlay (50) on the outer side encompasses the whole profile strip (40).
 6. Protection profile according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one support ledge (57) is provided on the sidewalls (51, 52) and/or the base wall (53) of the foil inlay (50) for consistent conduction of the force resulting from the weight of the plate-shaped body (30) into the flanks (41, 42) of the profile strip (40).
 7. Protection profile according to claim 6, characterized in that the support ledges (57) consist of hard foam or a solid material.
 8. Protection profile according to claim 1, characterized in that the sidewalls (51, 52) of the foil inlay (50) have a longitudinal fold (58) opening in the direction of the slat inner face (49) with concealed integrated glue, adhesive or non-slip coating.
 9. Protection profile according to claim 1, characterized in that the receiving space (44) is formed so as to expand in the region of the slat inner face (49) of the profile strip (40) and its adjacent regions of the flank inner faces (47, 48).
 10. Protection profile according to claim 1, characterized in that the foil inlay (50) consists of a plurality of foil inlay elements (55), which are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the profile strip (40) at a distance from one another.
 11. Protection profile according to claim 1, characterized in that the foil inlay (50) is a multi-ply foil.
 12. Protection profile according to claim 1, characterized in that the foil inlay (50) exhibits holes and/or cutouts or is formed with a mesh structure.
 13. Protection profile according to claim 1, characterized in that the profile strip (40) has a U- or a V-shaped cross section. 